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By the way, less important than the real story meat, but how do folks feel about 2B/9S's relationship vis a vis 2B/6O and 9S/21O? 21O clearly had repressed feelings for 9S and Adam taunts 9S by remarking that it's obvious he's thinking about wanting to bang 2B, but I personally feel like the Adam/Eve and Devola/Popola devoted sibling relationships are meant to be parallels for 2B and 9S.

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By the way, less important than the real story meat, but how do folks feel about 2B/9S's relationship vis a vis 2B/6O and 9S/21O? 21O clearly had repressed feelings for 9S and Adam taunts 9S by remarking that it's obvious he's thinking about wanting to bang 2B, but I personally feel like the Adam/Eve and Devola/Popola devoted sibling relationships are meant to be parallels for 2B and 9S.

I've heard people say that the cores of the machines are Emil heads, but I don't know if that's based on anything substantial or if it's just because of the scene where Emil pops out of a machine head.

By the way, less important than the real story meat, but how do folks feel about 2B/9S's relationship vis a vis 2B/6O and 9S/21O? 21O clearly had repressed feelings for 9S and Adam taunts 9S by remarking that it's obvious he's thinking about wanting to bang 2B, but I personally feel like the Adam/Eve and Devola/Popola devoted sibling relationships are meant to be parallels for 2B and 9S.

21O's feelings seem to be more maternal. 9S' equivalent of the Desert Rose subquest involves him introducing 210 to the concept of "family", and then at the start of route C/D she suddenly starts treating him like a child in an awkward, seemingly imitative way.

Also, the way 2B strangling 9S was shot was almost comically suggestive.

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By the way, less important than the real story meat, but how do folks feel about 2B/9S's relationship vis a vis 2B/6O and 9S/21O? 21O clearly had repressed feelings for 9S and Adam taunts 9S by remarking that it's obvious he's thinking about wanting to bang 2B, but I personally feel like the Adam/Eve and Devola/Popola devoted sibling relationships are meant to be parallels for 2B and 9S.

Yeah, that's a good point - she does mention "like family" specifically in her fight. However, she also skirts away from 9S any time he attempts to flirt with her over comms, which kinda makes me wonder if the feelings were there but she didn't want to get involved, knowing what scanner units are destined to have happen over and over.

9S kinda seems like he has a crush on every other character in the game really, like he's desperate for contact of any form period. I definitely get more of a protective sibling vibe from 2B towards 9S though. Mostly because the conversation between 2B and 6O after her side quest is so much different from anything that happens between 2B and 9S, even in 2B's more open emotional moments with him.

It's genius/heartbreaking how they turn what is originally a fun series of gag moments ("my friends call me nines, so..." "I'm good." and "roger that, nine.....szzzz") into such a gut punch at the end of 2B's story.

21O's feelings seem to be more maternal. 9S' equivalent of the Desert Rose subquest involves him introducing 210 to the concept of "family", and then at the start of route C/D she suddenly starts treating him like a child in an awkward, seemingly imitative way.

Also, the way 2B strangling 9S was shot was almost comically suggestive.

9S kinda seems like he has a crush on every other character in the game really, like he's desperate for contact of any form period. I definitely get more of a protective sibling vibe from 2B towards 9S though. Mostly because the conversation between 2B and 6O after her side quest is so much different from anything that happens between 2B and 9S, even in 2B's more open emotional moments with him.

It's genius/heartbreaking how they turn what is originally a fun series of gag moments ("my friends call me nines, so..." "I'm good." and "roger that, nine.....szzzz") into such a gut punch at the end of 2B's story.

Hmm I don't know about 2B and 6O, sure there might be some attraction from 6O's side but it doesn't convince me much (cause she jumped to 2B right after getting rejected >.>). It seemed to me like 2B was trying to cheer her up after being rejected by her crush, 2B obviously cares, but I don't think she has romantic feelings for 6O. On the other hand with 9S, 2B is constantly putting up a wall because she knows she's going to have to kill 9S again so she doesn't want to get emotionally attached, but even so, 2B warms up to 9S later on and actually accepts 9S date to shop together.

This is almost definitely Taro's most densely packed story yet. It's so much to process.

And to reinforce the significance of how intimately 2B strangling 9S is shot, it's important to remember the "love scene" between Nier and Kaine. Kaine basically slapped the shit out of an emotionally devastated and traumatized man and threw him around the room.

The undertones of the 2B/6O relationship were also noticeable however. Also Sting has a song called Desert Rose. I don't know how deep Taro is into sappy British music, but those are certainly some lyrics.

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And to reinforce the significance of how intimately 2B strangling 9S is shot, it's important to remember the "love scene" between Nier and Kaine. Kaine basically slapped the shit out of an emotionally devastated and traumatized man and threw him around the room.

That was the moment when I started shipping 2B and 9S, it was way too intimate to be considered an illustration of a siblings relationship. Taro has weird ways of expressing romance, but that's what I like about his writing.

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This is almost definitely Taro's most densely packed story yet. It's so much to process.

And to reinforce the significance of how intimately 2B strangling 9S is shot, it's important to remember the "love scene" between Nier and Kaine. Kaine basically slapped the shit out of an emotionally devastated and traumatized man and threw him around the room.

The undertones of the 2B/6O relationship were also noticeable however. Also Sting has a song called Desert Rose. I don't know how deep Taro is into sappy British music, but those are certainly some lyrics.

Agreed on the way the strangling scene is shot; I could go either way on that though, just because the Yorha units are clearly designed to be hyper idealized "angels" of sorts, so pretty much anything they do is going to look intimate. The intensity of the scene could be reflective of their relationship, or the sexually charged imagery could just be "in the moment," so to speak.

The 2B/6O relationship just feels more textually romantic to me, I guess, because of the symbolism of flowers (the game even prods at this with Pod's observation that they are reproductive organs), the natural and open conversation they have after the sidequest, and the "thank you for the flowers" scene when the logic virus hits.

Really though, I think this is a case where we're probably both right, because it's not like characters can only have romantic feelings for one other character. Both the 6O and the 9S relationship are, if you'll forgive the pun, blossoming during the events of the game. There's no reason to think Yoko Taro couldn't have written a character who was starting to develop romantic feelings for more than one other character at a time; it's just that things go lopsided for 2B and everyone else before we get into boring love triangle territory.

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That was the moment when I started shipping 2B and 9S, it was way too intimate to be considered an illustration of a siblings relationship. Taro has weird ways of expressing romance, but that's what I like about his writing.

If you think about it, there's honesty and even some beauty in how romantic love is consistently expressed through hurting the other person. It's very evocative of the Hedgehog's Dilemma, which is a metaphor for the inevitability of mutual pain found in intimacy, and how we must learn to not only mitigate but also tolerate that pain.

Agreed on the way the strangling scene is shot; I could go either way on that though, just because the Yorha units are clearly designed to be hyper idealized "angels" of sorts, so pretty much anything they do is going to look intimate. The intensity of the scene could be reflective of their relationship, or the sexually charged imagery could just be "in the moment," so to speak.

The 2B/6O relationship just feels more textually romantic to me, I guess, because of the symbolism of flowers (the game even prods at this with Pod's observation that they are reproductive organs), the natural and open conversation they have after the sidequest, and the "thank you for the flowers" scene when the logic virus hits.

Really though, I think this is a case where we're probably both right, because it's not like characters can only have romantic feelings for one other character. Both the 6O and the 9S relationship are, if you'll forgive the pun, blossoming during the events of the game. There's no reason to think Yoko Taro couldn't have written a character who was starting to develop romantic feelings for more than one other character at a time; it's just that things go lopsided for 2B and everyone else before we get into boring love triangle territory.

You may already know this, but one of the original drafts for the final scene of EoE instead had a pale hand caressing Shinji's cheek as he lays on the barren beach...then the camera pans out and reveals it to be a severed arm that Shinji is clutching.

Looks like it; or at least an epilogue, you know how these games can go. Presumably 2B has a "complicated" look on her face because this is from a war where she retained her memories? Or maybe that's just how Emil always read her expression, hah.

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Looks like it; or at least an epilogue, you know how these games can go. Presumably 2B has a "complicated" look on her face because this is from a war where she retained her memories? Or maybe that's just how Emil always read her expression, hah.

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There's also a toooon I want to say about this game's soundtrack, but for now I'll just say that the reuse of the theme from the red hood E unit quest as you're A2 running around inside dying 9S's mind is amazing.

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There's also a toooon I want to say about this game's soundtrack, but for now I'll just say that the reuse of the theme from the red hood E unit quest as you're A2 running around inside dying 9S's mind is amazing.

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony

By the way, less important than the real story meat, but how do folks feel about 2B/9S's relationship vis a vis 2B/6O and 9S/21O? 21O clearly had repressed feelings for 9S and Adam taunts 9S by remarking that it's obvious he's thinking about wanting to bang 2B, but I personally feel like the Adam/Eve and Devola/Popola devoted sibling relationships are meant to be parallels for 2B and 9S.

I feel like 2B and 9S obviously love each other in that manner. Allusions to dates, the obsession with each other's well being, 9S's obvious affection. I think its clearly romantic in nature. Of course this is also my Shinji/Asuka side talking here

Now 21O is more complicated as a one sided thing, but its mostly to drive 9S further on his rage spree

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I'm generally not a fan of "and everyone was okay!" cop-out endings, but the execution of ending E is really something special. There's a really nice meta-narrative with the Pod conversations; you know that "you were hoping they'd survive, weren't you?" is aimed at the player just as much as the other Pod. The fact that you literally have to fight the creators of the game to save these characters that you've (or I did, anyway) come to love is both hilarious and touching. Coupled with the network shenanigans, it's going to be an unforgettable gaming moment for me.

This feels pretty final, but so do most games in this series really. I could see him moving onto something entirely new (or at least something "new" still in the Drakenverse) and I get the feeling that if this sells/reviews well SE might want to keep Yoko Taro and his crew and Platinum together for another project. If they can! Not entirely sure how that business relationship works/worked.

Plus, and I don't mean this to sound cynical, but ending E leaves things open for these incredibly popular character designs to return.

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony

My question is how much 2B knew....if she knows about the plan and knows why she has to keep 9S quiet, does she know humanity was dead...in that case she must know the war is a farce...

i ask because throughout the story she questions the machines capability for logic with 9S explaining things away, but if she knew everything was a ruse from the beginning, it would probably have been better just not havin her comment on the robots if she knew with 9S being the one to question it and have her dismiss it

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Fought shop Emil again just so I could see his moveset and if you take too long to defeat him once the shop theme starts playing he charges up an attack that will definitely hit (and probably kill) since it covers the entire area while shooting endless Emil heads at you.

Also I like how the Heritage of the Past sidequest references Facade from the first Nier.

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Fought shop Emil again just so I could see his moveset and if you take too long to defeat him once the shop theme starts playing he charges up an attack that will definitely hit (and probably kill) since it covers the entire area while shooting endless Emil heads at you.

Also I like how the Heritage of the Past sidequest references Facade from the first Nier.

The way i see it, all pods were in on it at the end because their own masters all died, leaving only 2B and 9S as their next logical commander, and thereby in extension their own specialised pods i.e. the two talking ones